UC Davis football improves to 6-1 in a 46-point victory over Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
By Diego Cerna – (sports@theaggie.org)
On Oct. 12, No. 6-ranked UC Davis football team faced California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) Mustangs in an afternoon game at the UC Davis Health Stadium. As the Aggies climbed up in the rankings with a five-game win streak, they looked to improve against a lower-seeded Cal Poly team.
The game marked the 50th annual battle for the golden horseshoe where UC Davis and Cal Poly SLO competed for the title. The Aggies have defended their reign of the horseshoe for the past seven years for UC Davis’ homecoming, where alumni were allowed to storm the field before the game started.
The Aggies immediately set the tone for the game in the first quarter. On the Aggies’ first drive of the game, Miles Hastings, a fourth-year quarterback and communications major, threw Chaz Davis, a fourth-year wide receiver and psychology major, a 73-yard pass and run up the middle for field position inside the 20-yard line. UC Davis capped the play off with another 14-yard catch from Hastings to score the first Aggie touchdown.
The Mustangs responded with an explosive 42-yard pass, which set them up for a field goal. This would be Cal Poly SLO’s last points of the quarter.
The Aggies went on to score 21 unanswered points with touchdowns coming from a run by Lan Larison, a fourth-year running back and managerial economics major, a pick six interception by Rex Connors, a third-year defensive back and human development major, and 44-yard touchdown catch by Samuel Gbatu, Jr., a third-year wide receiver and undeclared major. The Aggies ended the first quarter with a strong lead of 28-3.
In the second quarter, Larison scored his second touchdown by hurdling over a defender into the endzone which electrified the already-thrilled crowd. The Mustangs responded with a quarterback run touchdown — which would be their last points of the game. Right after the Mustangs’ touchdown, Larison responded with another incredible play by running 41 yards to the endzone. The Mustangs did drive the ball within the 15-yard line for a chance at a last-minute score but got shut down in the red zone by the Aggie defense, keeping the Aggie lead at 32 points at halftime.
The Aggies finished the game with two more touchdowns from a 25-yard pass by Hastings to Trent Tompkins, a fourth-year wide receiver and communications major, and the first-ever collegiate touchdown run-in by Jordan Fisher, a second-year running back and managerial economics major. The Aggie defense allowed zero points scored in the second half. The final score was 56-10.
Hastings finished with an outstanding pass completion rate of 27 out of his 30 pass attempts, throwing for 458 yards and four touchdowns. His performance ranks as the fifth most passing yards in a single game in UC Davis football history. The UC Davis offense has 671 total yards. Larison had 82 rushing yards and 90 receiving yards.
Davis receivers contributed immensely to an amazing offensive performance. Davis recorded 102 yards, Tompkins recorded 83 yards and Stacy Dobbins, a first-year wide receiver and undeclared major, recorded 91 yards. The UC Davis defense has also gotten at least one interception in their seven games this year.
In a post-game press conference, Hastings praised Head Coach Tim Plough and the rest of his teammates for having confidence in him.
“I’ve gotten a lot of like, ‘Why’d you come back?’” Hastings said. “This is why I came back.”
Following the win against California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, the UC Davis football team looks to continue their six-game win streak and get their first-ever program win against Eastern Washington University at their next game on Oct. 19.
